Manufacture of moistureproof packages



H. G. ECKSTEIN MANUFACTURE OF' MOISTUREPROOF PACKAGES Apr. 1o, 1923.

Filed sept. 26, 1919 Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

UNITED STATES 1,451,145 PATENT OFFICE.

THE CRACKER JACK C0., A CORPORATION. OF ILLINOIS.

MAN/UFACTURE or MoIs'rUanrnoor PACKAGES.

Application led September 26, 1919. Serial No. 326,551.'

To all whom z't Vmay concern: l

Be 'it known that I, HENRY G. EGKSTEIN, a citizen of the United States,and avresident of Chicago, county of Cook, and'State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture ofMoistureproof Packages, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the manufacture of waxed paper -packages for.marketing candies, pop-.corn confection and other material readilyaffected by the absorption of moisture.

A paper package or wrapper containing wax only 'in its fibrous body orhaving only a slight coat or film of wax which is I'easily cracked orbroken, or leaves the libres of the paper exposed, will not effectivelyprevent the passage of water vapor, but, for efficient protection, thepackage must-have a substantial, unbroken film or coat of wax extendingthroughout all -portions thereof including its folds or joints.

The present invention seeks to provide at low cost a waxed paper.package which is .vapor-proof at all points. In accordance therewith,the goods are first enclosed in an inner wrapperv or package, which ispreferably in the form of a box or carton of relatively stiif paperboard and'suitable for containing loose or granular material such ascandies, pop-Corn confection,.or the like.,

The filled inner package is then enfolded in a flexible waxed papersheet or wrapper and the,y overlapping side and endfolds are securelysealed at all points through themediuln of wax onthe sheet by applyingheat and pressure to the folds.v The package, thus wrapped and sealed,is then immersed in a bath of melted paraffin wax, drained and cooled toform a substantial, continuous,

uniform coat or film overall portions of the package. l

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the form of package towhich theinvention is particularly directed, Figure, 1

is a perspective View of the inner packagel or carton. Fig. 2 1s aperspective vlew of.

the 'finished package.; and, Fig. 3 is a. detail section thereof.

The inner wrapper or package containing the goods and which'is to berendered vaporproof, should be of regular form and present smooth,comparatively rigid surfaces to serve as a suitable support or form overwhich -the flexible waxed'sheet or wrapper can be readilyA folded andsecurely sealed. Preferably, as stated, the .inner wrapperor carton-isformed of stiff pa er-box-board.

and comprises. a rectangular ody l having 'end fiaps 2 which areVfoldedinwardly to en- HENRY G. Ecxs'rEIN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,AssI'GNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, To .I

ily waxed. Preferably manila or bleached sulphite paper weighing fromtwenty to thirty-five pounds per standard cream bei fore waxing isemployed and the paper carries sufiicient parafiin wax, say from ten tothirty pounds per ream, to provide a heavy surface coat of wax on bothsides of the sheetin addition tothe wax in its body,

so that all portions`of the folds of the wrapper can be readilyandefiiciently sealed by the `application of heat and pressure'. The.

waxed sealing wrapper is folded about the inner filled package' tocompletely enclose the same, and the overlapping side and end foldsA 4and 5 of the wrapper are heated to partially melt the wax coat and arepressed into snug contact until the melted wax is cooled andset to sealthe folds. e

The wrapped and sealed package is then dipped in a'bath of meltedparaffin for a few seconds. After removal from the bath, ex-

cess wax is allowed to drain from the package and it is cooled byexposure to the air orto a 'cooling air blast to set the wax and form auniform, continuousfilm over all portions of the package. Paraffin waxhaving a. melt- Iing oint of about 128o or 130 F. is preferab y employedand the bath should` be maintained' at a temperature `of about 150o to160 F., care being taken' that the temperature be lhigh enough to insureproper drainage of the packages after removal from the bath and valsoVto avoid excessive temperatures vwhich would tend to open the sealedfolds of the packages. f

By dipping the package as described,y a

.coat or film tothe extent of about lzl to 29;

pounds pei` 100 square feet will be added, and,`since the package hasbeen previously enfolded and tightly sealed in a parafiined wrapperhaving a surface coat, the added wax cannot penetrate or be absorbed bythe walls ofthe package or seep in through its' folds or joints. Nor'vwill it form a film which can be readily broken or chipped off.

lll)

. Instead the additional wax will firmly unite or become fused or bondedwith the wax already on the surface of the Wrapper to form a heavysuperficial coat which will seal up all minute cracks and imperfectionsin the sea-ling wrapper and Vcover any portion of its film which mayhave been impaired by..

the heating and sealing of the folds. Furthermore, where a previouslywaxed wrapper is employed, the "amount o-f wax added by ldipping can bemore readily cont-rolled and more effectively and economically employedto provide a uniform film or coat than would be possible if an unwa-xed,glued or pasted wrapper were used. In Fig. '3 vof the drawingv the blackline 6 indicates the wax coat on the inner surface Iand between thefolds of the wrapper and theheavier line 7 is intended to indicate thefilm formed by its outer coat and the wax added thereto by the dippingoperation and which extends over the entire surface of the package,including the side and end folds.

The folding, sea-ling and dipping operations may be carried out invarious Ways, but preferably by suitable machinery. In dipping, theentire package is preferably immersed, but if the wrapper is originallyprovided with a heavy surface coat or film on both sides, good resultscan be obtained by dipping the end portions only to thereby thoroughlyprotect the end folds.

When the package is Withdrawn from the bath of melted paraffin, excesswax is drained off, as stated, preferably by holding the package forseveral secondcsr.. in such a tipped or inclined position thatone cornerpoint thereof is lowermost. In this way, the excess wax readilycollec-ts and falls from the lo-wermost corner point of the package andthus aids in effecting the uniform disposition of the added Wax.Usually, to protect thefinished package from injury, it will be inclosedin an outer pasted Wrapper of heavy paper or paper board.

The details set forth may be varied with- Y out depart-ure from theessentials of the invention as defined in 'the claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of vapor-proofing packageswhich consists in enfolding thegoods in vaflexible waxed paper wrapper the wax on which may at times bepartially destroyed in the operation of sealing the package, thenapplyin heat and pressure to the'overlapping folcIs of the wrapper toseal thev same by the wax thereon, and subsequently restoring a film ofwax to any such denuded surfaces of the wrapper to provide asubstantial, continuous film over all portions ,of the package.

2. Themethod -of forming filled vapor- Lamu-ia the goods in an vinnerwrapper to form an inner package of regular form and having smooth,substantially rigid sides and ends, enfolding the same in a flexiblepaper wrapper heavily coated with wax, the wax on which may at 'times bepartially destroyed in the operation of sealing the packyage, applyingheat and pressure to the sides and end folds of the wrapper to seal thefsame by the contained wax and subsequent- `ly immersing the -package inmelted Wax and draining and cooling the same to provide a substantial,continuous film over all portionsof the package, substantially'asdescribed. v

3. The method of vforming a `vapor-proof package which consists inenclosing the goods in a box of stiff material, and enfolding the samein a heavily waxed paper wrapper the wax on which may at times bepartially destroyed in the operation of'` sealing the package, thenapplyingl haalt. and pressure tothe side and end folds of said wrapperto seallthe same by the containedwax, and subsequently dipping ,thepackage in melted Wax to provide a substantal, continuous film over allportions of the package, substantially as described.

4. The method of vapor-proofing packages which -consists in enclosingthe con-v tents in a foldable Wrapper havinga surface film ofwaxenclosing the paper against the entrance of moisture to the body of thepaper but which film may at times be partially destroyed in theoperationof sealing the package, then applying heat and pressure to theoverlapping folds of the wrapper to melt the wax thereon and sealthesame therewith, and dipping the package 'in melted wax to re-lmany'portion of the surface from which the wax may have been displaced inthe operation -of sealing.

5. The method offorming filled vaporproof packages which consists inenclosing the contents to form an inner package, enclosing said innerpackage in an outer ,wrapper-of foldable paper having a surface film o-fwax sealingsuch outer wrapper

